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Australia was originally colonised by the British for the purpose of being a penal colony.

During the 18th century, British prisons were overcrowded with people charged with minor offences. This was an attempt to crack down on rampant crime as people sought to survive unemployment in the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution meant that the development of machines displaced many people from their employment, and the only way to survive was to steal food and other basic necessities. However, because of this, the prisons were so overcrowded that people were even held on hulk - old prison ships - moored along the Thames.

Britain had originally been able to send convicts to America, but the American War of Independence stopped that. An alternative had to be found. James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks had recommended botany Bay (New South Wales) after their exploration of the region in 1770. The authorities in Britain decided to act on this recommendation, sending the First Fleet of convict in 1787, who then arrived in New South Wales in 1788.

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